Ms Triona McCormack:

I will respond to Deputy Corcoran Kennedy on the conflicts between production of food and emissions, and her question on ethanol. We do not have much research on ethanol. One of principles we are following in the context of the circular bioeconomy is to extract the maximum value from the raw material and then look at the energy resource. I understand the context of the question the Deputy asked in terms of transport, etc., but we will have to look at our entire energy system. We have huge opportunities in Ireland, with the availability of renewable technologies such as wind and wave. Our grid is quite an advanced system. We have huge opportunities within the electric future, but I understand that the transition will take time. The mindset in Brussels and at the European Commission is that we should maximise everything that can be extracted from what is produced in the first instance, before it is converted into energy products. We are trying to optimise that first, before looking at the raw materials and the production system in terms of energy sustainability.

The Deputy may have missed the earlier comment I made about how we should look at our entire energy system in an integrated way, including the agriculture base, along with our broader energy system in that regard. That model is being discussed nationally, and it will add to the debate on what kind of mix we need for the future.